Understanding Jujutsu Log and Visibility

Overview

Key insight: jj log doesn't show all commits by default. It shows a smart subset: local commits and their parents. This prevents overwhelming you with the entire repository history.

Understanding visibility rules is essential for finding commits and understanding jj's output.

Core Concepts

Default Visibility

What you see by default:

jj log  # Shows: local commits + their parents

This includes:

• Commits you created locally
• Parents of your commits (for context)
• Commits reachable from your working copy (@)

What's hidden:

• Remote commits you haven't based work on
• Abandoned commits
• Commits marked as hidden

Seeing All Commits

# See everything, including hidden commits
jj log -r 'all()'

# See all visible commits (excluding root)
jj log -r '..'

# See commits matching git log
jj log -r '..'  # Similar to: git log --all

Elided Revisions

What are they?

When jj log shows: ◆ <several revisions>, it means intermediate commits exist but aren't shown in the current view.

Example:

@  abc123 my work
│  <several revisions>  ← Elided!
◆  def456 base commit

This means commits exist between abc123 and def456, but they're not displayed.

Showing elided commits:

# Show connecting commits
jj log -r 'connected(abc123, def456)'

# Show all ancestors
jj log -r 'ancestors(abc123, 10)'  # Show 10 levels

# Show everything between
jj log -r 'abc123..def456'

Common Use Cases

Finding a "Missing" Commit

Problem: Made a commit but don't see it in jj log.

Solutions:

1. Check visibility:

   jj log -r 'all()'  # See if it's hidden
   

2. Search by description:

   jj log -r 'description(keyword)'
   

3. Search by author:

   jj log -r 'author(your-name)'
   

4. Make it visible again:

   jj new <commit-id>  # Creates child, makes commit visible
   

Comparing to Git Log

Git behavior:

git log            # Shows current branch history
git log --all      # Shows all refs/branches

Jj equivalents:

jj log -r '@-'     # Show current lineage (like git log)
jj log -r '..'     # Show all visible (like git log --all)
jj log -r 'all()'  # Show absolutely everything

Monitoring Log Changes

Problem: Want to watch log evolve as you work.

Solutions:

# Using watch (Linux/macOS)
watch -n 1 jj log

# Using hwatch (better formatting)
hwatch -n 1 jj log

# Using viddy (interactive)
viddy jj log

# Using watchexec (watches for file changes)
watchexec -w .jj/repo/op_heads/heads jj log

Pro tip: Consider jj-fzf or check the wiki for TUIs/GUIs.

Revset Patterns for Visibility

# Local work only
jj log -r 'mine()'

# Everything reachable from @
jj log -r 'ancestors(@)'

# Recent work (last 10 commits)
jj log -r 'ancestors(@, 10)'

# Commits since yesterday
jj log -r 'after(yesterday)'

# Commits matching pattern
jj log -r 'description(fix)'
jj log -r 'author(alice)'

# Commits with bookmarks
jj log -r 'bookmarks()'

# Commits without description
jj log -r 'description(exact:"")'

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• ✅ Commits seem to be missing from jj log
• ✅ You see "elided revisions" and want to show them
• ✅ You're comparing jj log behavior to git log
• ✅ You need to find hidden or abandoned commits
• ✅ You want to monitor log output over time

Don't use this skill for:

• ❌ Operation history (see jj-operations skill)
• ❌ Working copy history (see jj-working-copy-snapshots skill)
• ❌ General workflow (see jj-workflow skill)

Progressive Disclosure

For detailed FAQ answers and advanced revset patterns:

📚 See detailed docs: faq-reference.md

This includes:

• Complete FAQ answers for visibility questions
• Advanced revset patterns
• Troubleshooting missing commits
• Detailed comparison with git log
• Monitoring and automation patterns

Quick Reference

# Visibility control
jj log                    # Default view (local + parents)
jj log -r 'all()'        # Everything including hidden
jj log -r '..'           # All visible commits (git log --all equivalent)
jj log -r 'ancestors(@)' # Commits leading to @

# Finding commits
jj log -r 'description(text)'  # Search descriptions
jj log -r 'author(name)'       # Search by author
jj log -r 'mine()'             # Your commits

# Elided revisions
jj log -r 'connected(a, b)'    # Show connecting commits
jj log -r 'ancestors(@, 10)'   # Last 10 ancestors

Remember

Visibility is intentional. Jj hides commits to reduce noise, not because they're lost. Use jj log -r 'all()' to see everything, or refine your revset to find specific commits.